Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, Jan 14, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, Jan 14, 2002 |
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Logistics
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Infrastructure Konkan Rly Corpn signs MoU for `Skybus' project in Coimbatore G. Gurumurthy
COIMBATORE, Jan. 13 THE Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL), which has mooted the concept `Skybus' transportation, a suspended rail-guided mass transit system for major metropolitan cities has added Coimbatore as one of the potential cities that can try the new mode of public transport to decongest their arterial roads. KRCL has signed an MoU with the city-based G.M. Swamy Consortium to act as its local partner to promote the `Skybus' concept travel mode. KRCL has identified three high-density traffic routes in Coimbatore — for a total 28-km distance — where the futuristic `Skybus' mode could be laid. According to KRCL officials who made a presentation on the `Skybus' travel mode on Saturday, the salient features of the new transportation system is that it requires no land acquisition. The Skybus pathway can be laid on the median of roadways with an investment that will be at 25 per cent cost of the underground metro or 50 per cent of the cost of the elevated railway system. KRCL's technology for the Skybus runs like this: The medians of roadways are used to erect concrete columns to support an 8-metre width concrete box that runs through the Skybus routes and these concrete box will house the Skybus rail guides from which the passenger coaches are suspended from bogies running overhead. The operation of the coaches that run at 90 kmph is remote controlled. Powered by three-phase AC motor, the twin-bus units will take 15 minutes to cover the 12-km distance at an average 50 kmph, according to officials. The Chief Engineer, KRCL, Mr Laxmi Narayan, and his colleague Mr G.B. Nagendra (senior engineer projects), said the Skybus project would be ideal mode of mass transport for cities of 15-20 lakh population and hence Coimbatore with its 15-lakh population would be an ideal choice for the project. Being an infrastructural project, the per km cost of the Skybus system would work out anywhere between Rs 35 to Rs 40 crore and accordingly the total outlay for the 28-km route Skybus project mooted for Coimbatore would be up to Rs 1,270 crore. While KRCL would offer the technology/financial consultancy for the Skybus project which will include preparation of the techno- economic feasibilities, mode of financing, transfer of technology for operation and maintenance, its local partner G.M. Swamy Consortium would scout for finance and also help secure the necessary clearances from the State and the local bodies for implementing the Skybus system in Coimbatore. Mr G.M. Swamy of Swamy Consortium said his firm along with KRCL would form a SPV shortly which will implement the Skybus project. Initially, the Skybus would be run on a 12-km route on the busy Avanashi Road (between city Railway junction and Coimbatore Medical College), and later this would be extended as a circular route covering the busy Tiruchi Main road. KRCL has already mooted similar Skybus projects for Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Bangalore, Kolkata, Kochi and Pune for which it has signed MoUs with local partners. KRCL is also trying to promote overseas projects for Skybus transportation and it has also signed MoUs for promoting Skybus projects in Baghdad, Dubai and Dhaka towns, KRCL officials said.
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